Title : School Daze, (K)night Job
Author : Tenhawk
********WARNING!********
This story is NOT part of the Journeyverse continuum! This is the Sequel to 'Red & Gold'
*********WARNING!********
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... none of which are me.
Summary: Life on the Hellmouth is never easy, especially when you're hiding a secret from the Slayer.
Warning : Crossovers ahead. (Yes Plural.)
Rating : PG-13 to PG-16; for mild cursing, violence, and demonic horror content... in other words a bit more grown up then the series... but only cause I don't have to suck up to censors.
*****
Buffy followed Xander out of the building before she spoke, "Xander...? Xander! Come on, it wasn't that big a deal..."
Xander kept stalking into the park, his face set in anger.
"Xander!" She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "I'm sorry I laughed at you! Alright?"
"It's not that." Xander pushed away, irritated.
"Then what!?"
"I..." Xander stopped, refusing to go on.
"You what?" Buffy pressed, "Come on Xander... you what?"
"I... I wanted some parts of my life to myself." Xander said, feeling like a heel as he did. "I wanted something that wasn't part of Sunnydale, ok? I'm sorry... but I just wanted something to myself."
Buffy fell silent as they walked through the park. Finally she spoke. "I understand."
Xander stopped, looking over at her.
"Don't look so surprised." Buffy said, "It's not like I asked for slayage stuff to happen to me. When it started I kept trying to keep my old life separate, but intact. But sooner or later it all muddles together."
Xander sighed, "Yeah. I'm getting the idea."
"It's not so bad, Xander..." Buffy grinned, "At least you're not a super hero with a secret identity..."
Xander let out a practiced laugh. "Yeah. At least."
The two of them continued to walk through the park as the sun followed its track down to the horizon.
*****
Xander and Buffy arrived back at the apartment to find Angel playing chess on the flatscreen.
"Queen's Knight takes Black Queen. Check." Angel said, grinning.
"Bishop takes Knight. Checkmate." The computer intoned, a hint of smugness in its voice.
Angel dropped his grin and glared at the screen. "That's three in a row. Are you stringing me along on purpose so I'll think I have a chance?"
The computer didn't reply.
Xander rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Maybe now you see why I'm aggravated with the bugger."
Angel turned around, surprised. "I didn't notice you come in."
Xander and Buffy looked at each other, surprised.
"You didn't hear us?" Buffy said.
Xander laughed, "Hey, whaddya know... We found the Dark Knight's kryptonite... he's a chess club geek."
Angel growled, but Buffy was already laughing.
Xander sighed happily, Can't let DB get one over on me without some retribution.
*****
Two nights later
Xander looked around the empty apartment, taking a dep breath. Angel had finally deemed himself fit for patrol, and had actually managed to convince Buffy that he was right, so the two of them were gone.
That left Xander, for the first night of the week, with free time. Buffy wasn't patrolling alone tonight, and she didn't need him to back her up.
Of course, that left him with the time to get some practice in.
"Computer," He called out, "Access Armory."
"Confirm identity." The computer's voice came out of the ceiling.
"Harris, Alexander L. Stark Enterprises Security chief, west coast."
"Identity confirmed."
The panels slid apart to reveal the small but well stocked armory. Xander walked up to the armor where it stood, silently waiting to be called into battle again. He took a breath and stepped into the open back of the suit, feeling the thrill rush through him as the armor sealed itself tightly around him and the systems came online.
"Seal Armory." His voice was oddly changed by the mask he wore, but the voice print was still the same.
"Confirmed."
Iron Man looked up at the skylight in the ceiling. "Open up."
The tempered security glass slid open, and Iron Man tensed.
"Sir?"
Xander stopped, surprised. "Yes?"
"Good luck... Sir."
Xander nodded inside the armor. "Thank you."
Then he looked up and his boot jets flared, lifting him into the air.
As he cleared the skylight, the computer reversed the mechanism and sealed it again.
"You're welcome... Xander."
***** "So..." Angel grunted as he dodged a blow from a vampire, planting his stake in its heart with a smooth motion. "How was your day?"
Buffy ducked under a punch, "Oh... you know..." she nailed the vampire with a kick to the ribs that cracked bone. "Same old... Giles is speaking to me again... well, more than single syllable words anyway."
"That's..." Angel grunted as he was thrown back by a kick to the face, "Good..."
"Yeah..." Buffy staked her opponent, then looked around for another dance partner. When she found none she stopped to watch Angel deal with his last vampire. "It's a big relief."
Angel nodded, ducked under another kick, and shoved his stake into the vamp's chest. "I'm glad for you."
"Maybe he'll be ready to talk to you soon." Buffy suggested as she started to continue on her patrol.
Angel shook his head, "I don't think he wants to see me again for a long time."
Buffy nodded reluctantly, "Yeah... but he'll come around."
"Maybe. Maybe he shouldn't." Angel said.
"It wasn't you, Angel... It wasn't you."
"No. It wasn't. But it was me that got too close to a Slayer. It was me that broke the curse. Those things were me."
Buffy looked at him, her face a mask of hurt. "Too close?"
Angel looked away, "Yeah, Buffy... Too close. Far too close."
The two continued on their patrol in silence.
*****
Man! This is the ONLY way to Patrol! Xander enthused as he overflew Sunnydale, fists outstretched. He looked at the dark terrain below him, marveling at the beauty of the lights against the blackness.
Ok... now what was that baddy G-man was jabbering about? Xander wondered, "Computer... Access those police reports I told you about... try to find a pattern."
The computer voice buzzed in his ear, ::Accessing.... Analyzing... Complete. Three pattern matches found.:: "Let me have them."
::One. Geographic. All the strikes have been in the locale of the industrial district.::
"Ok, changing course." Xander said, leaning and heading for the district.
::Two. Victim. All Victims were female, aged fourteen to twenty two. Presumed to be prostitutes by the Sunnydale PD.::
"Hookers? In Sunnydale? This isn't L.A. Computer." Xander muttered.
::Unknown. Three. All Deaths occurred between midnight and one o'clock.::
"That pattern I remember." Xander said as he slowed to a hover a hundred feet over the industrial district. "Does the pattern match anything in the database, or on the net?"
::Working.::
"Cool." Xander said, "but while you do that I'm taking this show a little closer to the road."
Iron Man dropped toward the ground, keeping his noise level to a minimum as he overlooked the streets below him.
*****
"What's down this way?" Angel asked as Buffy led him out of the graveyard, then headed toward the Industrial district.
"We're not sure..." Buffy responded, "Willow hacked into the police records and found that there was a series of really icky murders down this way. Women the cops seem to think are prostitutes have been hacked apart and some of their organs were taken."
"Nice." Angel said, "No ideas if its human or demon?"
Buffy looked at him sharply, "It has to be a demon... what would a human want with organs?"
Angel shrugged, "Spell components, trophies, resale, maybe a meal..."
"Ewww! That's sick!"
"Buffy, I've been around a long time... and I've seen a lot of things," Angel hesitated, "But some of the sickest things I've seen were done by humans, who's souls were intact."
*****
::Pattern search complete. No match found.::
"Great." Xander muttered, "Hold on a second, I'm tracking something."
::Confirmed.::
Xander landing on the roof of a nearby building and looked down at a lumber figure below him. "What the hell have we here?"
:: Body temperature 109 degrees... Mass 2.43 tons... Profile and data compilation indicates a Olgara Demon.::
"Threat factor?"
::Moderate.:: The computer advised him. ::Strength is capable of damaging the armor.::
"Great." Xander muttered. He watched as the demon made it's way down the empty street, looking furtively over it's shoulder. "He is definitely up to something."
As the demon went around the corner Xander lifted off the rooftop and flew in pursuit.
*****
The man watched as the lumbering beast of a demon trundled through the door of the old warehouse.
"Did you get it?"
The demon grumbled, but pulled out a small object that was tucked under it's arm.
"Good! Good!" The man said, his eyes lighting up. "Finally... Give me the Dagger."
The demon pulled it back, just out reach, and grumbled again.
"Give me the DAGGER!" The man's eyes flashed dangerously.
Reluctantly the demon handed the ornate weapon over. Then it grumbled something else.
The man glare at it, "Later. Stand over there!"
The demon kept grumbling, but moved to where the man pointed.
The man smiled as he saw his own reflection gleaming in the silver blade of the dagger. "Beautiful..."
He turned back to a stone alter he had placed in the center of the room. "Don't you think, my dear?"
On the alter a young woman was frozen, staring in fear at the blade as he approached.
*****
"What... what happened?"
Angel looked over at Buffy oddly, "What?"
"When you went through... it. What happened?" Buffy asked again, her voice soft.
Angel was silent for a while, looking straight ahead. "I really don't want to talk about it... and you don't need to hear it either, Buffy."
"I think I do." Buffy said stubbornly.
"Trust me. You don't." Angel's voice was cold.
Buffy paused in mid step, staring at Angel as he kept walked. "Angel...."
Angel didn't look back, he just spoke quietly. "Let's get back to work. We have a... demon... to find."
*****
"No! Get away from me!" The girl screamed as she watched the man come toward her.
"Now, now, my dear." The man chided, his voice almost gentle. "There's really nothing to be gained by all this screaming..."
He hefted the dagger and stood over the chained girl, slowly bringing the dagger up. Her scream pierced his ears and he winced. "For christ sake, child, shut up... oh, never mind. I'll do it for you."
He tensed to drive the blade down, but was startled by a sudden crash from above him. He spun around and looked up to see a shower of shattered glass fall to the floor of the warehouse. As the glass struck the floor around him he stared upwards in shock.
A figure clothed in Red and Gold was slowly descending to the ground, its arms crossed across it's chest. "You know, the whole blood sacrifice thing went out of style in the dark ages."
The man's jaw worked a couple times before he found his voice. "Wh... who are you?"
"Call me... Iron Man."
The man shook his head, getting his nerve back. He finally smirked. "How very... original of you."
The armored form shrugged, "I go with tradition."
The man turned to glare at the Olgara demon. "Kill Him!"
Iron Man turned to look at the demon, to his surprise the demon shook its head and growled something.
"I said KILL HIM!" The man screamed in apoplectic fury.
The huge demon growled, shaking it's head for a moment, then charged Iron Man like a Bull Elephant. He hit Iron Man at full speed and lifted the red and gold figure off his feet and slammed him back into the concrete wall.
Cinder blocks cracked, mortar crumbled, and Iron Man was half buried in the solid wall. His hands were splayed out to either side as he saw stars.
::Warning! External pressure is approaching design tolerance!::
Xander shook his head, clearing his vision. He could see the furious face of the demon just inches from his mask. Slowly he flexed his arms, getting the feeling back into them, then he deliberately brought his hands in and grabbed the demon by it's shoulders.
"Nice move, ugly." He muttered, "My turn."
*****
The silence of their walk was interrupted when they both heard a loud crack, like two huge boulders smashing together.
"Did you...?"
Angel nodded. "Yeah."
"What...?"
Angel shook his head. "No idea. Where...?"
"Not sure."
The two of them were looking around, trying to locate the source of the sound, when they heard a crash of glass and spun toward the sound.
***** "My turn." Xander growled, forcing the demon back as he removed himself from the pressure indent in the cinder blocks and started to push the demon back across the warehouse.
The demon growled at him, it's motions becoming increasingly desperate as it found itself forced back into the center of the warehouse.
::Warning! Pressure rising to dangerous levels!::
Xander growled, pushing the demon's arms away from his torso, bending them back. The Demon redoubled it's efforts to force him back.
::Warning!...::
"Shut up!" Xander growled, suddenly slamming his helmet forward into the Demon's face.
The Olgara fell back in pain, clutching at it's face. Xander didn't give it a chance to recover, the demon was too dangerous. He slammed an armored fist into it's lower abdomen, then unleashed a full power uppercut to the creature as it doubled over.
The powerful blow lifted the Demon clean off the ground and sent the creature right out one of the huge upper level windows.
*****
Angel and Buffy stared in shock as the massive bulk flew over their heads and slammed into the street with enough force to crack the cement. They approached the moaning form slowly, tentatively.
"What is it?" Buffy asked with distaste as she looked at the grayish blob.
Angel looked it over, "An Olgaran..."
"A what?"
Angel shook his head, looking at the old warehouse a few hundred yards away. ""Olgaran's weigh over two *tons*... what the hell could have thrown one that far!?"
*****
The man actually shook when the Red and Gold armored figure turned toward him. "W... what are you?"
Iron Man walked toward him, and extended a hand. "Give me the dagger."
The man fell back a step, clutching the ornate weapon to him, and shaking his head. "No... No... NO!" "Get real, you wacko." Iron Man said, "Give me the dagger and I'll let the cops handle it. Keep it, and I handle it."
The man suddenly broke out in an insane grin, "I have a third option! I can kill her and complete the ceremony!"
The man spun around,. Lifting the dagger high into the air above the bound girl. As he started to slash downward with the blade he felt two strong, cold, hands grab him from behind and lift him off the ground.
There was a rush of wind, then the man felt a sudden crack, then nothing but blackness.
Iron Man turned to the girl, who was staring at him in terror.
"W... who are you?"
"Like I told the nutcase, I'm Iron Man." Xander said, putting a measure of humor into his voice. "Just hold on a second... I'll get you out of these ropes in just a jiff."
He snapped the ropes easily, pulling them apart like they were threads of cotton. Then he helped her off the alter. "Don't suppose you know what his big nasty plan was?"
The girl shivered, "He's insane! He kept babbling about demons and magic spells!" She looked at Xander in sudden terror, "He said he killed others!"
Xander looked around, "What else did he say?"
The girl shook her head, "I don't know... I wasn't listening most of the time... He said something about a hostage..."
"You?"
"No..." She shuddered, "He only called me 'the sacrifice'."
Xander growled, glancing over at the unconscious figure of the man. He could tell from here that the man was breathing, but didn't think he was going to be waking up anytime soon. Xander sighed, Ok... too much violence.
"Stay here. Don't move." He said to the girl as he started looking around the warehouse.
The place was immense, and even with the enhanced sensors of his suit, Xander had a hard time find anything. When he finally did locate a trap door in the floor, he pulled the heavy slab up easily, his mask sensors allowing him to peer through the murky darkness.
His heart dropped when he saw what was below, his mind putting things together. "Oh crap."
*****
READ THIS!! :
If you want more stories/faster updates in this and/or the Journeyverse series don't ask me. Just go to my Yahoo group and check it out for DAILY updates. I only post here when I get around to it... which can be any stretch of time at all. FF.Net simply isn't a priority given the recent uncertainties in posting here. So far I've been lucky, none of my fics have been deleted, but a lot of stories are biting the big one for little to no reason.
www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/journeyverse
********WARNING!********
This story is NOT part of the Journeyverse continuum! This is the Sequel to 'Red & Gold'
*********WARNING!********
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... none of which are me.
Summary: Life on the Hellmouth is never easy, especially when you're hiding a secret from the Slayer.
Warning : Crossovers ahead. (Yes Plural.)
Rating : PG-13 to PG-16; for mild cursing, violence, and demonic horror content... in other words a bit more grown up then the series... but only cause I don't have to suck up to censors.
*****
Buffy followed Xander out of the building before she spoke, "Xander...? Xander! Come on, it wasn't that big a deal..."
Xander kept stalking into the park, his face set in anger.
"Xander!" She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "I'm sorry I laughed at you! Alright?"
"It's not that." Xander pushed away, irritated.
"Then what!?"
"I..." Xander stopped, refusing to go on.
"You what?" Buffy pressed, "Come on Xander... you what?"
"I... I wanted some parts of my life to myself." Xander said, feeling like a heel as he did. "I wanted something that wasn't part of Sunnydale, ok? I'm sorry... but I just wanted something to myself."
Buffy fell silent as they walked through the park. Finally she spoke. "I understand."
Xander stopped, looking over at her.
"Don't look so surprised." Buffy said, "It's not like I asked for slayage stuff to happen to me. When it started I kept trying to keep my old life separate, but intact. But sooner or later it all muddles together."
Xander sighed, "Yeah. I'm getting the idea."
"It's not so bad, Xander..." Buffy grinned, "At least you're not a super hero with a secret identity..."
Xander let out a practiced laugh. "Yeah. At least."
The two of them continued to walk through the park as the sun followed its track down to the horizon.
*****
Xander and Buffy arrived back at the apartment to find Angel playing chess on the flatscreen.
"Queen's Knight takes Black Queen. Check." Angel said, grinning.
"Bishop takes Knight. Checkmate." The computer intoned, a hint of smugness in its voice.
Angel dropped his grin and glared at the screen. "That's three in a row. Are you stringing me along on purpose so I'll think I have a chance?"
The computer didn't reply.
Xander rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Maybe now you see why I'm aggravated with the bugger."
Angel turned around, surprised. "I didn't notice you come in."
Xander and Buffy looked at each other, surprised.
"You didn't hear us?" Buffy said.
Xander laughed, "Hey, whaddya know... We found the Dark Knight's kryptonite... he's a chess club geek."
Angel growled, but Buffy was already laughing.
Xander sighed happily, Can't let DB get one over on me without some retribution.
*****
Two nights later
Xander looked around the empty apartment, taking a dep breath. Angel had finally deemed himself fit for patrol, and had actually managed to convince Buffy that he was right, so the two of them were gone.
That left Xander, for the first night of the week, with free time. Buffy wasn't patrolling alone tonight, and she didn't need him to back her up.
Of course, that left him with the time to get some practice in.
"Computer," He called out, "Access Armory."
"Confirm identity." The computer's voice came out of the ceiling.
"Harris, Alexander L. Stark Enterprises Security chief, west coast."
"Identity confirmed."
The panels slid apart to reveal the small but well stocked armory. Xander walked up to the armor where it stood, silently waiting to be called into battle again. He took a breath and stepped into the open back of the suit, feeling the thrill rush through him as the armor sealed itself tightly around him and the systems came online.
"Seal Armory." His voice was oddly changed by the mask he wore, but the voice print was still the same.
"Confirmed."
Iron Man looked up at the skylight in the ceiling. "Open up."
The tempered security glass slid open, and Iron Man tensed.
"Sir?"
Xander stopped, surprised. "Yes?"
"Good luck... Sir."
Xander nodded inside the armor. "Thank you."
Then he looked up and his boot jets flared, lifting him into the air.
As he cleared the skylight, the computer reversed the mechanism and sealed it again.
"You're welcome... Xander."
***** "So..." Angel grunted as he dodged a blow from a vampire, planting his stake in its heart with a smooth motion. "How was your day?"
Buffy ducked under a punch, "Oh... you know..." she nailed the vampire with a kick to the ribs that cracked bone. "Same old... Giles is speaking to me again... well, more than single syllable words anyway."
"That's..." Angel grunted as he was thrown back by a kick to the face, "Good..."
"Yeah..." Buffy staked her opponent, then looked around for another dance partner. When she found none she stopped to watch Angel deal with his last vampire. "It's a big relief."
Angel nodded, ducked under another kick, and shoved his stake into the vamp's chest. "I'm glad for you."
"Maybe he'll be ready to talk to you soon." Buffy suggested as she started to continue on her patrol.
Angel shook his head, "I don't think he wants to see me again for a long time."
Buffy nodded reluctantly, "Yeah... but he'll come around."
"Maybe. Maybe he shouldn't." Angel said.
"It wasn't you, Angel... It wasn't you."
"No. It wasn't. But it was me that got too close to a Slayer. It was me that broke the curse. Those things were me."
Buffy looked at him, her face a mask of hurt. "Too close?"
Angel looked away, "Yeah, Buffy... Too close. Far too close."
The two continued on their patrol in silence.
*****
Man! This is the ONLY way to Patrol! Xander enthused as he overflew Sunnydale, fists outstretched. He looked at the dark terrain below him, marveling at the beauty of the lights against the blackness.
Ok... now what was that baddy G-man was jabbering about? Xander wondered, "Computer... Access those police reports I told you about... try to find a pattern."
The computer voice buzzed in his ear, ::Accessing.... Analyzing... Complete. Three pattern matches found.:: "Let me have them."
::One. Geographic. All the strikes have been in the locale of the industrial district.::
"Ok, changing course." Xander said, leaning and heading for the district.
::Two. Victim. All Victims were female, aged fourteen to twenty two. Presumed to be prostitutes by the Sunnydale PD.::
"Hookers? In Sunnydale? This isn't L.A. Computer." Xander muttered.
::Unknown. Three. All Deaths occurred between midnight and one o'clock.::
"That pattern I remember." Xander said as he slowed to a hover a hundred feet over the industrial district. "Does the pattern match anything in the database, or on the net?"
::Working.::
"Cool." Xander said, "but while you do that I'm taking this show a little closer to the road."
Iron Man dropped toward the ground, keeping his noise level to a minimum as he overlooked the streets below him.
*****
"What's down this way?" Angel asked as Buffy led him out of the graveyard, then headed toward the Industrial district.
"We're not sure..." Buffy responded, "Willow hacked into the police records and found that there was a series of really icky murders down this way. Women the cops seem to think are prostitutes have been hacked apart and some of their organs were taken."
"Nice." Angel said, "No ideas if its human or demon?"
Buffy looked at him sharply, "It has to be a demon... what would a human want with organs?"
Angel shrugged, "Spell components, trophies, resale, maybe a meal..."
"Ewww! That's sick!"
"Buffy, I've been around a long time... and I've seen a lot of things," Angel hesitated, "But some of the sickest things I've seen were done by humans, who's souls were intact."
*****
::Pattern search complete. No match found.::
"Great." Xander muttered, "Hold on a second, I'm tracking something."
::Confirmed.::
Xander landing on the roof of a nearby building and looked down at a lumber figure below him. "What the hell have we here?"
:: Body temperature 109 degrees... Mass 2.43 tons... Profile and data compilation indicates a Olgara Demon.::
"Threat factor?"
::Moderate.:: The computer advised him. ::Strength is capable of damaging the armor.::
"Great." Xander muttered. He watched as the demon made it's way down the empty street, looking furtively over it's shoulder. "He is definitely up to something."
As the demon went around the corner Xander lifted off the rooftop and flew in pursuit.
*****
The man watched as the lumbering beast of a demon trundled through the door of the old warehouse.
"Did you get it?"
The demon grumbled, but pulled out a small object that was tucked under it's arm.
"Good! Good!" The man said, his eyes lighting up. "Finally... Give me the Dagger."
The demon pulled it back, just out reach, and grumbled again.
"Give me the DAGGER!" The man's eyes flashed dangerously.
Reluctantly the demon handed the ornate weapon over. Then it grumbled something else.
The man glare at it, "Later. Stand over there!"
The demon kept grumbling, but moved to where the man pointed.
The man smiled as he saw his own reflection gleaming in the silver blade of the dagger. "Beautiful..."
He turned back to a stone alter he had placed in the center of the room. "Don't you think, my dear?"
On the alter a young woman was frozen, staring in fear at the blade as he approached.
*****
"What... what happened?"
Angel looked over at Buffy oddly, "What?"
"When you went through... it. What happened?" Buffy asked again, her voice soft.
Angel was silent for a while, looking straight ahead. "I really don't want to talk about it... and you don't need to hear it either, Buffy."
"I think I do." Buffy said stubbornly.
"Trust me. You don't." Angel's voice was cold.
Buffy paused in mid step, staring at Angel as he kept walked. "Angel...."
Angel didn't look back, he just spoke quietly. "Let's get back to work. We have a... demon... to find."
*****
"No! Get away from me!" The girl screamed as she watched the man come toward her.
"Now, now, my dear." The man chided, his voice almost gentle. "There's really nothing to be gained by all this screaming..."
He hefted the dagger and stood over the chained girl, slowly bringing the dagger up. Her scream pierced his ears and he winced. "For christ sake, child, shut up... oh, never mind. I'll do it for you."
He tensed to drive the blade down, but was startled by a sudden crash from above him. He spun around and looked up to see a shower of shattered glass fall to the floor of the warehouse. As the glass struck the floor around him he stared upwards in shock.
A figure clothed in Red and Gold was slowly descending to the ground, its arms crossed across it's chest. "You know, the whole blood sacrifice thing went out of style in the dark ages."
The man's jaw worked a couple times before he found his voice. "Wh... who are you?"
"Call me... Iron Man."
The man shook his head, getting his nerve back. He finally smirked. "How very... original of you."
The armored form shrugged, "I go with tradition."
The man turned to glare at the Olgara demon. "Kill Him!"
Iron Man turned to look at the demon, to his surprise the demon shook its head and growled something.
"I said KILL HIM!" The man screamed in apoplectic fury.
The huge demon growled, shaking it's head for a moment, then charged Iron Man like a Bull Elephant. He hit Iron Man at full speed and lifted the red and gold figure off his feet and slammed him back into the concrete wall.
Cinder blocks cracked, mortar crumbled, and Iron Man was half buried in the solid wall. His hands were splayed out to either side as he saw stars.
::Warning! External pressure is approaching design tolerance!::
Xander shook his head, clearing his vision. He could see the furious face of the demon just inches from his mask. Slowly he flexed his arms, getting the feeling back into them, then he deliberately brought his hands in and grabbed the demon by it's shoulders.
"Nice move, ugly." He muttered, "My turn."
*****
The silence of their walk was interrupted when they both heard a loud crack, like two huge boulders smashing together.
"Did you...?"
Angel nodded. "Yeah."
"What...?"
Angel shook his head. "No idea. Where...?"
"Not sure."
The two of them were looking around, trying to locate the source of the sound, when they heard a crash of glass and spun toward the sound.
***** "My turn." Xander growled, forcing the demon back as he removed himself from the pressure indent in the cinder blocks and started to push the demon back across the warehouse.
The demon growled at him, it's motions becoming increasingly desperate as it found itself forced back into the center of the warehouse.
::Warning! Pressure rising to dangerous levels!::
Xander growled, pushing the demon's arms away from his torso, bending them back. The Demon redoubled it's efforts to force him back.
::Warning!...::
"Shut up!" Xander growled, suddenly slamming his helmet forward into the Demon's face.
The Olgara fell back in pain, clutching at it's face. Xander didn't give it a chance to recover, the demon was too dangerous. He slammed an armored fist into it's lower abdomen, then unleashed a full power uppercut to the creature as it doubled over.
The powerful blow lifted the Demon clean off the ground and sent the creature right out one of the huge upper level windows.
*****
Angel and Buffy stared in shock as the massive bulk flew over their heads and slammed into the street with enough force to crack the cement. They approached the moaning form slowly, tentatively.
"What is it?" Buffy asked with distaste as she looked at the grayish blob.
Angel looked it over, "An Olgaran..."
"A what?"
Angel shook his head, looking at the old warehouse a few hundred yards away. ""Olgaran's weigh over two *tons*... what the hell could have thrown one that far!?"
*****
The man actually shook when the Red and Gold armored figure turned toward him. "W... what are you?"
Iron Man walked toward him, and extended a hand. "Give me the dagger."
The man fell back a step, clutching the ornate weapon to him, and shaking his head. "No... No... NO!" "Get real, you wacko." Iron Man said, "Give me the dagger and I'll let the cops handle it. Keep it, and I handle it."
The man suddenly broke out in an insane grin, "I have a third option! I can kill her and complete the ceremony!"
The man spun around,. Lifting the dagger high into the air above the bound girl. As he started to slash downward with the blade he felt two strong, cold, hands grab him from behind and lift him off the ground.
There was a rush of wind, then the man felt a sudden crack, then nothing but blackness.
Iron Man turned to the girl, who was staring at him in terror.
"W... who are you?"
"Like I told the nutcase, I'm Iron Man." Xander said, putting a measure of humor into his voice. "Just hold on a second... I'll get you out of these ropes in just a jiff."
He snapped the ropes easily, pulling them apart like they were threads of cotton. Then he helped her off the alter. "Don't suppose you know what his big nasty plan was?"
The girl shivered, "He's insane! He kept babbling about demons and magic spells!" She looked at Xander in sudden terror, "He said he killed others!"
Xander looked around, "What else did he say?"
The girl shook her head, "I don't know... I wasn't listening most of the time... He said something about a hostage..."
"You?"
"No..." She shuddered, "He only called me 'the sacrifice'."
Xander growled, glancing over at the unconscious figure of the man. He could tell from here that the man was breathing, but didn't think he was going to be waking up anytime soon. Xander sighed, Ok... too much violence.
"Stay here. Don't move." He said to the girl as he started looking around the warehouse.
The place was immense, and even with the enhanced sensors of his suit, Xander had a hard time find anything. When he finally did locate a trap door in the floor, he pulled the heavy slab up easily, his mask sensors allowing him to peer through the murky darkness.
His heart dropped when he saw what was below, his mind putting things together. "Oh crap."
*****
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If you want more stories/faster updates in this and/or the Journeyverse series don't ask me. Just go to my Yahoo group and check it out for DAILY updates. I only post here when I get around to it... which can be any stretch of time at all. FF.Net simply isn't a priority given the recent uncertainties in posting here. So far I've been lucky, none of my fics have been deleted, but a lot of stories are biting the big one for little to no reason.
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